If tomorrow wasn’t the start of National Nutrition Month, I would be shedding many tears over the end of National Heart Month. I don’t know about you, but I have thoroughly enjoyed talking about ways to keep your ticker ticking and how to enjoy every bite along the way.

Lucky for us, today is no exception. Being the 5th and final week of “Love Your Heart”, we bring you…desserts! Didn’t know desserts could be good for your heart? Keep reading!

Before I entice you with a Meyer Lemon and Blackberry Olive Oil Polenta Cake (try saying that five times fast!), be sure to drool over the heart-healthy dessert offerings from Lauren, Amy, and Cara.

Can I get a yum? I’m in awe of the heart-healthy dessert line-up, aren’t you?

As for my offering, I opted for a cake that used wholesome ingredients like whole wheat pastry flour, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, blackberries, and polenta.

Over the past few week’s I’ve discussed the value of a diet high in mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids that help promote healthy lipid levels in the body. By using a heart-healthy oil such as olive oil and omitting fats commonly used in baking that are loaded with saturated fat, such as butter, you can replace the “bad” fat with “good” fat.

This recipe also uses fiber-rich whole wheat pastry flour and cornmeal, as well as berries. Sneaking fiber into the diet isn’t always easy, but including it in food items such as dessert sure makes meeting the recommended 35-35 grams of dietary fiber each day a much less daunting task.

That said, don’t forget to exercise portion control and sharing when baking up things like cake. Too much of a good thing doesn’t make it better…it makes it excessive. 😉

Because this recipe contains quite a bit of sugar, regular lemons will work just fine. I know my abundance of Meyer lemon recipes is quite the tease, but this is surely one instance where you could sub in the every-day, humble lemon!

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, polenta, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the sugar, eggs, and egg substitute on medium-high speed for 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is pale yellow and tripled in volume. Mix in the lemon zest.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and the lemon juice. Add this to the egg mixture, alternating with the flour mixture, in two additions each, mixing after each addition until the ingredients are incorporated. Gently fold the blackberries into the batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake the cake until the top springs back when lightly touched, and a cake tested inserted into the center emerges clean, 35-45 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan set on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then release the sides of the pan and allow the cake to cool completely.

Sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar and garnish with additional fresh blackberries (optional) before serving.

Leave a comment with your favorite dessert and any ideas you have to make it a bit more heart-healthy 😉

This giveaway will end Sunday, March 4th at 11:59pm EST. No purchase necessary. Comments from Cara’s, Amy’s, and Lauren’s blogs will be included in this grand prize drawing, so be sure to head there to enter for a chance to triple your chances to win!

I think that cake looks like it’d be lovely with coffee. But then again, what isn’t? I may or may not have a coffee addiction…

My favorite dessert is the good ol’ chocolate chip cookie. And I know people cut the fat in it by using applesauce and the like instead of butter/shortening. And I know people say you can’t taste it. But I just don’t want to do it! 🙁

HELLLLLO! best giveaway EVER!! My favorite dessert is a no-bake cookie. Yes, I know, random, but they are SO EASY and SO DELICIOUS! The great thing is that they are already sort of healthy, because they have oats and peanut butter 🙂 No, as for a healthy dessert that uses Bob’s Red mill, I use Oat Bran flour for ALL My cookies. More fiber….right?!

I love meringues, which are pretty heart healthy to begin with! Also, I love the sound of these flavors – I’ve yet to make an olive oil cake, but this may push me to do so, if only I can find meyer lemons…

I suppose I could add some fibre to a cookie recipe with wheat or oat bran added to the cookie dough. I made sugar-free carnival cookies a couple weeks ago which were okay. But I’m not gonna lie, bad-for-you cookies always taste better.

i love all dessert, but i think that subbing greek yogurt or apple sauce for oil is great, and adding wheat germ and wheat bran in muffins is a great way to amp up the health factor as well. I have also seen mashed beans used in brownies and cookies for moisture instead of oil and that adds a ton of fiber and protein to an otherwise void treat!

My absolute favorite dessert is ice cream. To make it more heart healthy I watch my portion size, top it with fruit and granola or enjoy frozen yogurt instead of the full-fat version. I love my ice cream!

As for desserts…I have a weakness for chocolate chip cookies. I’ve made a whole wheat version, which makes it healthier, and I could probably add some flax seed meal too. I bet I could cut down the sugar some as well

So many choices… I think right now I would really enjoy a hot fudge brownie sundae. I would make it heart healthy by sharing with my husband and son so I don’t eat the whole thing myself!! I would probably just have a skinny cow ice cream treat instead. They are pretty darn good. 🙂

Chocolate soufle has got to be my favorite dessert. I honestly don’t know all of what’s in it to even begin to think about making it healthier. I am sure switching to whole wheat flour, dark chocolate, etc.

First off – this cake looks awesome Nicole!! I love everything about it and olive oil cake is something I still want to try.

Second – Bob’s is awesome! What a prize pack. A dessert I love to healthify a bit is pie. Instead of white AP flour I love using spelt in its place. Plus less sugar too – let fruit be the star, not sugar.

My favorite dessert? That’s really tough but I am always a sucker for a giant warm gooey cookie with ice cream on top, melting from the heat of the cookie. To make it healthier, I would prepare it like I have when making my favorite chocolate chip cookies healthier – substitute one egg for flax+water, reduce the sugar a little, substitute some of the butter with yogurt, and also use some whole wheat mixed in with the white flour. Maybe even light ice cream if I’ve feeling extra good.

I never met a cookie I didn’t like! I’ve found that I can sub 1/3 to 1/2 of the AP flour with white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour with virtually no impact on the outcome! Still not healthy, really, but at least I’m getting some fiber 🙂

Wow, that lemon cake recipe looks like a real winner. I’m definitely going to be baking this weekend!

My favorite heart-healthy recipe is something I came to a little late: quinoa pudding! I had only ever prepared quinoa in savory foods and hadn’t thought to try it in anything sweet, but it was really yummy (and filling!). I just combined cooked quinoa (very high in protein) with plain yogurt (I use regular plain yogurt, but this could become healthier still by substituting soy or some other type of yogurt), some agave nectar (has a lower glycemic index than other sweeteners), and frozen mixed berries (great source of vitamin C and fiber and tasty too). I tossed in some broken walnuts in there too for good measure (and good source of healthy lipids).

And my favorite desserts are Popsicles but not really the store bought ones – thought I have tons of them I prefer homemade ones. I really want to figure out how to make carob pops but I’m not there yet! But my favorite is (and I’d say this is very heart healthy) 1 cup almond milk (vanilla) with a tablespoon of lemon juice added (to make faux buttermilk) then add in your favorite fruit (mine usually grapefruit (just the juice) – hubs likes blueberries) then a couple tablespoons of Splenda mix and pour into pop molds and freeze! I have two sets of Popsicle molds and I saw the seriously cutest ones the other day that I want (the tops were umbrellas) but who needs a third set?

I wonder how much the taste would be affected by partial substitution (say, maybe 1/3 cup) of applesauce for the olive oil. My favorite dessert is an almond cake made by a cousin in Italy, with a zabaglione in it. I’d like to start baking polenta olive oil cakes, because that’s how they often make cakes in Italy.

Great cake……I can’t get enough of meyer lemons! I just wish my local store had them as cheap as your Krogers!

My fav dessert is creme brulee……full of heavy cream, sugar and egg yolks. Hey, the stomach wants what it wants! While I will indulge in the real thing on the rare special occasion, I make my own a little bit healthier by cutting the sugar and subbing lowfat milk for part of the cream and reducing the yolks. I also only “brulee” one little spot on top to get the caramelized sugar effect and serve with fresh fruit. Not “healthy”, but a better alternative that the original.

Found your site from Lauren’s blog (Healthy Food For Living). I think your blog is great! I am doing my dietetic internship right now and am excited to be an RD soon! Thanks for the great recipe too! I looove desserts, but most of the ones I eat are probably not very heart healthy 🙂 I do enjoy some dark chocolate and I usually replace all or part of the fat with applesauce. Greek yogurt with fruit is also a favorite for me, although that is usually more of a sweet breakfast for me than a dessert 🙂

I’m a chocoholic and recently found a very heart healthy recipe by making my own chocolate pudding ( a vegan version too) and adding chia seeds. these tiny seeds help keep me fuller longer and care for my heart. Since they dont have a distinct flavor you could add them to just about anything.

My favorite dessert is fresh strawberry o’cheese. If the strawberries are really ripe & flavorful, I can cut-down on the sugar. It could probably be made with low-fat cream cheese, which would probably make it more hearty-healthy 😉

2. My fav dessert would be cheesecake, topped with strawberries! I use “Chantal’s NY Cheesecake” recipe and it is deliciously creamy.. but definitely high in calories and fat. I generally try to use low-fat dairy in my cheesecake – milk, sour cream, and of course the cream cheese. I find it just as delicious… also a little bit goes a long way.